Richenel

For their first release of 2017 Music From Memory present the work of a Dutch musician for the first time with an EP of tracks by singer Richenel taken from his debut album 'La Diferencia'. Originally released in 1982 on the cult Amsterdam cassette only label Fetisj the tracks on Music From Memory’s release are alternate takes drawn from Richenel’s personal copy of the album and feature two original compositions which didn’t make it onto the original Fetisj tape. Studying set and costume design whilst making a name for himself as a singer and performer in Amsterdam’s underground clubs, Richenel played with several disco acts and cultivated an extravagant cross-gender stage persona before connecting with members of the local label. Hooking up through their time together at the Rietveld art academy in Amsterdam, Fetisj was an experimental multi media collective which revolved around a loose mix of various young artists and musicians. Having developed a house band with artists going by a number of different pseudonyms the label set up their own small makeshift studio and would produce and sell the cassettes through their distribution network and at events across the city. Recorded amongst the turmoiled punk and squatter scene of Amsterdam against a backdrop of drugs and social unrest, the ‘La Diferencia’ sessions reflect a unique mix of punk aesthetics with a synthesized ‘bedroom’ funkiness.